Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-12-25
LIFE ON THE STAGE.
DION BoucIcAuLT GIVES SOME cHARk-
IHg REMrBIgCRHcEs
Joe Jeifsrson's Officially In Sizing UP
Some Of His Roles-Amusing
Incidents, 90.


Dion Boucicault says: In my leisure
moments have written "reminiscences ei
a long and very happy career on the
stage, and among the hundred and one
amusing occurrences none excel the
chapter OF accidents that happened tC
1.-The Shaughraun on its first night
Everything went well until my frs
scene, in which l describe the fox hunt
TO attend which Conn steals Squire
Foley's horse. The public took fire be
fore 1 expected, and exploded in the
wrong place. This took me by surprise
and / forgot the words. Turning to
Nine. Ponisi I said, "What il
it?" She replied, ~ don't know,
and there we stood. j made up TIE resi-
of the speech as best / could. or rather
staggered through it. In the second
act, when a front scene should have
been drawn to discover the ruined alb
hey by moonlight, with the silver ripple
made by the moon on the waters, there
was a long wait. The slow music was
played again and again, l became
dreadfully impatient, wlin Tommy
Bsrdon, the gasman. who damaged al
the llme-light effects, including the
moon, rushed towards me with despair
CONFUSING his features.
"What's the matter?" l cried.
WOh, sir, the moon has busted. He
meant that the lens which is focused on
the circular oritice representing the moon
had broken under the heat.
"No matter" l cried; "draw the
scene"
Tommy tore his hair when, on dis
covering Matt Morgan's lovely work, q
round black hole in the sky, represented
total eclipse. Nevertheless the waters
below showed the ripping reflection Of
the satellite absentee. Tommy had for
gotten "to turn off the ripple" A roal
of laughter saluted the blnnder.
But all this was nothing compared tc
what happened in the last scene OF the
play, when Molineux has TO search fol
the wound in Kinchela's body, inflicted
by Conn's pistol-shot The text directs
Molineux to feel the breast OF kinchela's
coat, exclaimine "The bullet entered
here, but something has arrested It's pro.
gress. All this pocket-booi has saved
his life !" Montague, who played Moll.
neux, could find no pocket heard
him whisper: Where's the pocket
book ?" "Oh, Lord !" murmured Kin
chela, 81 forgot it's in my tail-pocket. y
Montague rolled him over, and, extract
ing the book from that spot, continued
without thinking "The bullet entered
here" etc, etc. The Homeric
ROAR OF LAUGHTER,
in which every one on the stage joined
shook the building. tried to speak the
rest of my part but how got the few
words out cannot remember.
In 1859 the Winter Garden opened it
doors in New York with a version Of
1.-The Cricket on the Hearth. rechris
tened "Dot," in which play the charnc
ter Of Caleb Plummer had been written
for jefferson, who was then emerging
from obscurity. 1t was July. L wa
staying in Newport. The theatrical sea
son was to open in September. Tho
parts had been sent out TO the company
In few days l received visit from
jefferson. He came to decline the
part. He said he had appeared il
the character at Baltimore and else
where and had failed dismally il
it. | assured him that my Caleb wa
another kind Of chsrecter-there wa
nothing dismal about it. Still lie re
fused to risk it. ! pointed out to hin
that only few days interviewed before
the opening of the house. We had NJ
other play ready and no scenery III th'
new building. We had no one else e
play the part. At last he reluctantl,
consented TO play it if he was allowed t.
perform on the same night the characte
Of Scion Shingle, which he regarded a
his "war horse" OF course this wa
Welded. We assembled to rehears,
dot" After the first scene L tool
jefferson aside and said to him
II say, Joe, don't sulk over the part
You may as well rehearse properly"
Il am not sulking at al" be ex
claimed. "You see l am right in sayinl
/ the part don't suit me-"
Presently l detected the error. Fl
had mistaken the key and was playing
Caleb in a melancholy minor instead G
a brilliant major. / asked him to sit i
my authors chair,
FACING THE SCENE,
while / rehearsed the rest of the part 70
him. He did so and watched me as
proceeded to give an imitation of hin
self-as he should have drawn the chs
racter. He shifted about uneasily 70
some time-he had caught the idea {
the childish old man-until at last h
Jumped up, crying 81 see All right
] did not understand it before. | can d
it,"
dot" was produced, and the come
dian scored one of the greatest successe
Of his career.
In 1865 he arrived in London fror
Australia, where he had been starring
He was DESTROYS Of appearing in tn
English metropolis, but all his piece
had been performed there, and manager
declined to give BIN an opening unles
he appeared in something new. Il
offered them his old play, RIP Va
Wrinkle" The piece had been presente
by Hackett and subsequently by Burke
Managers returned it as being too u
terly bad. So no came to me for helI
After turning various subjects over
my mind il occurred to me that O
entirely new version Of Rip could b
made-Rip as young man, the thrift
l Loco warn bond tho iOv Of the hoVa an